Eldridge
The Eldridge is the most important vehicle (besides that of Xenogears) in the entire game. Origins Around 10,000 years before the plot of Xenogears, this massive 100 kilometer long colony ship was commissioned by the Galaxy Federation. The dimensions of this ship are incredible, as can be seen in the opening sequence of the game. After the Federation created Deus and the powerful Zohar Modifier, they experimented in linking it to the ultimate weapon, the "Yahweh" Interplanetary Invasion System. This led to disaster: planet Miktam04β was destroyed by Deus when it absorbed too much energy from the Zohar. This event was pivotal in setting the events of the next 10,000 years into motion. The project was deemed too powerful and dangerous to continue. It was decommissioned, and both the Zohar and Deus (the central core of the Yahweh system) were stored in the Eldridge's central core. This was the major purpose of the starship. The Eldridge was set to leave Federation space to remove the threat from human civilization in T.C. 4767, as well as rescue survivors of Miktam04β. Deus takeover During the journey, a young boy named Abel entered an off-limits area while looking for his missing mother. He saw the Kadomony in the eye of the Zohar, and sensing his longing for his mother, Kadomony created and manifested a woman: Elly. Abel contacted the Wave Existence, a hyperdimensional being imprisoned within the Zohar Modifier. Deus became aware of the situation and in self-defense, attempted to take control of the ship. Although the crew attempted to stop Deus from spreading to different sectors, the weapon was too powerful. To prevent Deus from being unleashed upon open space, Shigeyoshi Inoue, the captain of the Eldridge, activated the self-destruct sequence which destroyed the majority of the bridge and engine sections of the ship, which was orbiting above the planet on which Xenogears takes place. After the crash The remnants of the starship fell to the planet, along with Deus and the Zohar Modifier. Deus was heavily damaged and activated its regenerative program, which created a human entity. She set out to begin reproductive processes to create enough biological tissue to repair Deus, birthing Cain, the members of the Gazel Ministry, the first incarnation of Myyah Hawwa, and also the first incarnation of Elly before returning to the Kadomony stasis pod from which she was generated. Meanwhile, the Zohar was lost in the mantle of the planet at The Land of Bethlehem. There was only one survivor of the Eldridge: Abel. Xenogears Virtually all the technology seen in Xenogears was a part of the Eldridge, including all the Gears with the exception of the Xenogears. The salvaged pieces of the Eldridge help humanity's technological progress immensely, leading to some technologically advanced societies such as Zeboim. Examples of Eldridge technology include: * Babel Tower: Babel Tower is the massive main section of the ship which impacted the planet directly perpendicular to the surface. * Ft. Jasper: Ft. Jasper is one of the levitating laser cannons seen active during the opening sequence. * Mahanon: A floating island known as paradise, or god's resting place. It is the central core of the Eldridge that still housed the Deus core. After the destruction of the Eldridge, this crashed into the sea. **Mahanon also contains Razael and Razael's Tree. * Merkava: A mobile system intended to transport Deus. * Excalibur (No. 1) and Excalibur (No. 2) * Although not confirmed, it is heavily implied that Yggdrasil was part of the Eldridge. Etymology While there was a ship called the USS Eldridge (DE-173), it doesn't seem particularly relevant to the Eldridge in Xenogears. "Eldridge" is likely simply a reference to God, in the sense that "El" means "God" and can be used to refer to the god of the Hebrew bible. This would make sense as the Eldridge is also transporting a "god": Deus. In addition, "El"ehayym was also on the Eldridge. Trivia * Abel's Ark can be thought of as being the closest thing or equivalent to the Eldridge in the Xenosaga universe. Gallery Ship1.gif|EMERGENCY ALERT. Ship2.gif|An Eldridge operator. Ship3.gif|Alpha 1 genome restructure, confirming exon replacement. Ship4.gif|Base code 100 million (Deus). Ship5.gif|Activating self-destruct bolts. Ship6.gif|Space logic is being rewritten. Ship7.gif|An internal plane is forming. RazIntro.png|Razael. Jasper0.png|Targeting sensors, one of which would become Ft. Jasper. Category:Xenogears vehicles